GEOGRAPHY

Eritrea is a country situated in Eastern Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The east and northeast of the country have an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. The population by 2005 was estimated by 4,401,000.
Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government on January 1, 1890. Upon Italy's losses in World War II, Eritrea was ruled as a British protectorate between 1941 and 1952. Like the economies of many other African nations, the economy is largely based on subsistence agriculture, with 80% of the population involved in farming and herding. The only natural disaster that sometimes affects Eritrea, drought, has often created trouble in the farming areas.

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

“Women represent 22% in politics”
The National Assembly of 150 seats (of which 75 were occupied by handpicked EPLF guerilla members while the rest went to local candidates and diasporans more or less sympathetic of the regime), formed in 1993 shortly after independence, elected the current president, Isaias Afewerki. No time frame was announced for the presidency. National elections have been periodically scheduled and canceled.
EASSI members in Eritrea are:-
National Union of Eritrean Women (NUEW) and National Union of Eritrean Youths (NUEYS)
NUEW was created in November 1979. It was one of the mass organizations of the Eritrean Liberation Front (E.P.L.F) It is presently an autonomous organization that woks to improve the status of Eritrean women. After the liberation struggle, N .U.E W succeeded in organizing more than 200,000 members. http://www.nuew.org.
NUEYs is an organization that creates a platform for youth in Eritrea. Amongst the programmes they are engaged in HIV/AIDS prevention and sensitization, anti FGM campaigns and promotion of education and other youth benefits.
The above organizations were active during the outlaw of FGM in the country, where it was prevailing at almost 90%. Although the practice still exists, it is a step in the right direction by the Government to put a law against it. However, 85% of women are still illiterate as compared to 15% of the men. In Asmara, 69 % of men above the age of 15 compared to 31% of women.